Circuit judge to pay $50K in Indian Child Welfare Act case

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) – A state circuit court judge in Rapid City will pay $50,000 in a settlement over whether he concealed information when he was a defendant in a federal lawsuit alleging violations of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

U.S. District Chief Judge Jeffrey Viken signed off on the order on Wednesday. Although 7th Judicial Circuit Judge Jeff Davis agreed to pay the plaintiffs $50,000 for reasonable attorneys’ fees, he did not admit concealing any information.

Davis was a defendant in a federal lawsuit that accused him and other state officials of violating the Indian Child Welfare Act in their handling of abuse and neglect cases involving Native American children. Viken last year ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, which included the Oglala Sioux and Rosebud Sioux Tribes.

The settlement is over accusations that Davis had allegedly concealed documents related to custody hearings.